Kylan plays Ruby, My Dear by Thelonious Monk

[ftblfreak15]

KYLAN!!! its chad you taught me piano for a little bit! just watching some videos and thought i would look you up. me and my other piano teacher just started working on elite syncopations. its going really good so far.

[94jmills]

give me your hands

[jobmd33]

I think I hear a lot of whole tone ("deer in the forest") descending scales which Monk liked to use. at 1:18 for ex. Correct me if I am wrong.

Good news is that there are only two.  Bad news is that the fingering takes practice to get fast and clean.

[rpsinfoman]

Love It!!! You ever do "Afternoon in Paris" ?

[slyme1711]

fantastic ! my favorite rendition on youtube, BRAVO !

[thenamesfrancisco]

ha really rad video man its cool how you can do those crazy fast thelonious monk runs

[ugottheblues]

what type of scale is that that you keep descending really fast on

[foundring]

@ugottheblues at what time (or times) in the video are you referring to?

[ugottheblues]

@foundring like at 1:50 and i think a couple of other times

[ugottheblues]

@foundring and at 1:55

[fistagon77]

wow...

[drumerboy5678]

Not monk wrong mood BUT it is way more impressive to take a song and change it your way than copy it!

Great job!

[drumerboy5678]

Very nice!! thanks for making my day with the great monk!

[forwardtenth]

Simply amazing ( for a 50 year old player) how do you do it ?

[psmooth777]

Nice man. One of my favorite songs. As far all those "nice but not Monk" comments, isn't that obvious? Does it really need to be pointed out? Monk is my absolute favorite, I'm glad to see someone taking his stuff and doing their own thing with it. It's jazz, not classical. Listen to some classical if you want to see someone faithful reproduce a piece of music. Listen to jazz if you want to hear the individual playing put his own stamp on it.

[jackwhitefanatic]

ya know.. no matter what comes out of a piano... the performance truly shows emotion and gets your viewers into the peice. you do just that and it's because you enjoy it. phenomenal

[ready22rock]

It's nice to see that some younger people are doing something productive like this instead of wasting time plying video games! Nice job and very impressive at any age! Keep at it!

[micheleapicella2]

thelonious is live

[MissSara]

Awesome video.

Would you mind questions about the FP-3? Is there no speakers in the piano, so you have to hook speakers up to it? and is there any sort of sheet music stand?

Sorry, but thanks!

[jazzimr]

creative!

[flutemusic05]

For a young fellow, he got some creative talent here.

[flutemusic05]

For a young fellow, he got some creative talent here.

[pao7xl]

5/5 liked your version very much

[damnthatissocool]

I just love this kid ... I'm repeating my comment from a couple years ago ... More incredible raw talent from Kylan ... come on critics, show me ANYONE ELSE who can come close to recreating Monk (not to mention Tatum, Waller, and others) with such facility and natural freedom. I'd love to sponsor Kylan to record on a proper Steinway concert grand with a proper piano bench ... after all, that's what the Monk preferred.

[TheNeonTide]

excellent. can i buy you table?

[jdsowa]

probably the most impressive thing on youtube.

[foundring]

Probably the most exaggerated comment on youtube! but thanks!!

It's nice to know people are still enjoying this video, the first thing I put up on youtube. But I'd like to think I've improved a lot since!

Thanks again!

[blanchelle]

Been a while since I listened and watched. But hey, Foundring, you refer to a "...weakness of this video." But I'm here to tell you: I find no weak moments anywhere. Like I said before: It's bombastic and brilliant.

[bigbenhillman07]

wow man, you can play some piano! nice!

[nef18]

man, keep it simple.. i guess if you're trying to impress you did a good job but dang... this is a very tender piece of work

[nef18]

don't get me wrong I was very entertained

[Soupydictionary]

AMAZING! would you recommend this keyboard to a live show pianist singer/songwriter ? weighted keys?

[kylanjessee]

my name is kylan 2 how kewl lolz.

[FunkmasterRick]

Hey, been a while since I watched this one. I was probably drunk or high when I last watched it, as that's usually when I get the inclination to browse YouTube.

I'm too lazy to look for my old comment, but I was probably accusing him of artificially speeding the video up to make it look like he's better. It's very possible to do that without changing the pitch of the sound these days.

But I retract that. =D

[dvnstvn9]

very good, how long ya been playin

[RetroElectroville]

Dude, I'm buying you a keyboard stand!

[flip784]

Esta bueno...

[toastiepenguin]

oh yeah doesn't your back hurt from playing like that? lol

[toastiepenguin]

I think what FunkmasterRick was trying to say about the performance being "sped up" was that your semi-improvised portion of it was more like "how many notes can I hit before the next measure ends". Not that you sped the video up or anything.

I'd have to agree with FunkMasterRick, if that is what he meant, because your improvised parts seem to get in the way of the essence of Ruby My Dear.

Otherwise you can play really fast and have really good "by the book" playing.

[foundring]

I pretty much agree with everything you said. Although, this was almost 4 years ago and I probably would approach this piece much differently now.

That being said, it was never meant to be in the style of Monk...I was trying to play Monk in my own style, which is exactly the weakness of this video.

[hippojuice23]

Like your own 'Monkisms' in this! I always hate dry and absolutely static interpretations of pieces , thanks!

[obdami]

Holy shit! You're good!

[030957]

Thelonious lo hacia de una manera sencillamente magistral, tú lo haces de una forma complicadamente magistral.

[Bragko]

ow brother. wonderful played... good luck!!

[FunkmasterRick]

This is a great performance of the piece. Very intuitive and filled with the right amount of craziness to really make it stand out!

It was, however, quite obviously sped up to exaggerate your skill. Which kind of bothers me, as it's the same thing all the music today seems to be about. Then again, it'd all be cool if you kept at it till you could play it that well and and at this speed! =P

[foundring]

Strange, I've been accused of speeding up my Handful of Keys video, but never this one! Not only do I not know how to successfully pull that off, but wouldn't you be able to hear the tone of the music being warped if this was "sped up"?

Thanks for the compliments, but even though this was my first video and recorded over 2 years ago, I was definitely proficient enough to play this then. If this video is sped up, then all of mine must be, because this is probably the least technically demanding.

[FunkmasterRick]

lol, you're right, this is fine. I was high. =P

[mxmahony]

Great job!! But please make it simple...

[otayyo]

fantastic~!

[Onderstekop]

Love this song. Nice work, man.

[crazypianolady]

The spiralling/dramatics isn't really for me, but very nice playing! I'm just wondering if having your chair quite high/piano low is easier to play?

[CBasie2856]

At the time you posted this video, did you know all your chord progressions?

[foundring]

Chord progressions? What do you mean?

[CBasie2856]

Like the common ii V I, or I vi ii V, chord substitution, you know - chord progressions? I am only asking because, I am inspired by you, but although you are still light years ahead of me, I was just wondering if you knew all this stuff at the time you posted this video.

[mihmus]

very skilfully, but it's not Monk...

wrong mood...

anyway your technics is great!

[foundring]

I never claimed to be emulating Monk!!

This is my take on a piece by Monk, but in my style. Just having a little fun...

[mihmus]

I talked about the mood... "claimed" is your word!

You are absolutely right - you must play as you feel! But also you must understand about what this music. When soul of player has absolutely different shape than author's soul, it's definitely wrong way! Excepting player which is not less talanted, which has own great mood, great soul, great mind... It is that we must aim!

You are definitely talanted! And much more than me! But no need to deny good advice!

With BEST wishes!

[allgold]

@mihmus exactamente! no es el "mood" pero no deja de ser algo francamente muy bueno.

[BRazor92]

@mihmus I can tell he quoted directly from Monk in 1:17 though. I am trying to transcribe that recording currently.

[mihmus]

@BRazor92

notes is one thing, but the moods are quite another.

[030957]

Soy un admirador de la música de THELONIOUS MONK. Tengo que decirte que todos tus videos son muy buenos, al menos eso creo, pero éste de My dear by, es fabuloso. Me impresiona cada vez que lo veo, saludos.

[Summelduple]

Obviously he is very talented, but this is not very musical; it's got too many chops and self-indulgent extra bits. I can see you've deviated a lot from the Monk version (which is fine!) but it's not really my sort of thing. Thanks for posting this though.

(Thumbs down me as much as you want.)

[030957]

Este muchacho es un virtuoso, a mi modesto entender.

[thelonius61]

Sorry Kylan, why don't you try Monk?

[karon4789]

amazing,, but TOO tough

[dr024]

AMAZINGLY played... wow! and the roland fp-3 sounds really like a piano..

[12SetProductions]

VERY VERY WELL DONE...but the song is meant to be a lil less hectic..

though even so, you have amazing chops..and still made it sound AMAZING!

[FromTheSouthOfEarth]

No sabia que Jonny Greenwood tocaba tan bien el piano!!!!!!!!!

[foundring]

Can anyone translate that?

I *love* Jonny Greenwood, so whatever you said, you're awesome!

[mollstu]

they said: i dont know that Jonny Greenwood played the piano that well!!!!! :)

[mynmyself]

jajaja, estos anglos, que no nos entienden...

[rpsinfoman]

Outstanding talent!! Like to see you play it on a Grand.

[legamature]

Would you do your admirers a favor? Don't be so anxious to get off camera. Turn and give us a smile. I have a feeling that you are much better looking than Tatum.

[CBasie2856]

Tatum wasn't the best looking but he wasn't the worst looking either. At my high school, I see a lot of ugly looking kids all over the place, some are the ugliest I've seen.

[lolomen]

Is jazz, if you feel the necessity to improvise with that notes is ok, I mean, Saint Monk didn´t use to play that song in a "sober" form.

[zrobotics]

Yes, you can show off your chops; but you're over complicating the song. With this song, raw emotion is worth considerably more than technical competence. There are better songs to demonstrate your mastery of piano, and as magnificent as this song is, it simply isn't one of those songs. You are an extremely talented musician, but please pay attention to what you're playing. Improvisation is great, and in the spirit of jazz, but part of improvisation is paying attention to what the song's about.

[Benwade90]

well said. jazz isn't about how many notes you can squeeze into a song or how flashy you can make it.

that said, you are an obviously excellent musician.

[bigelvin22]

overplayed - it's about the song not your chops

[foundring]

it's my video, so I don't see why it can't be about me *and* the song :)

[blanchelle]

You're so right, Foundring. Keep on doing what you're doing.

[osmankemalosmankemal]

you need to get your ass on a real piano--great job! doesn't do the song justice on an electric keyboard, though. nicely done

[damnthatissocool]

More incredible raw talent from Kylan ... come on critics, show me ANYONE ELSE who can come close to recreating Monk (not to mention Tatum, Waller, and others) with such facility and natural freedom. I'd love to sponsor Kylan to record on a Steinway concert grand with a proper piano bench LOL ... I bet he'd do even better, and have a wider expressive range. Don't forget thaty with respect to expressiveness, the electronic keyboard can't touch a Steinway (which is what Monk often performed on).

[AngeloAnnieMate]

Didn't like your versionj, sorry!. Monk was so much strong and at the same time, so sweet an cool...

...aaaaaah, who am I kidding?, is pure envy my friend. You have a very strong voice too. It's just that Monk treats the instrument "a bit" different from all of us. Any way, we're humans after all. I think he was an alien from another galaxy in disguise. Hence the hats...

...Congratulations.

[Reclinerjockey]

Magnificent, and my back still hurts from watching you play in that position.

[rorexm]

Hi, What is phenomenal is the position you are playing in!!

[PhilippeLernould]

marvellous and really awesome

[blanchelle]

I was told that Monk named the song for a friend of his. And I also have to say that Foundring's interpretation of the piece is not at all lacking in sentiment. He covers most of the known nuances of the tune while cleverly reshaping them into an episodic abstract exposition. Mr. Monk, himself, would've probably liked this performance.

[monk2602]

Hi, I'm from spain, sorry for my bad english.

I think you are so fabulous!!! my god!!!!

but I love this song, and I think that in your version, the song miss the sentiment... As you know, is a Cradle song for his newborn soon.

but, realy.... i think you are a piano machine! jejeje

Can you do a mor sweet version??? please... thank's!

[foundring]

Thank you, and I appreciate your compliments and opinion. I have to confess that although I knew that my interpretation here is different than how Monk envisioned this song, I did NOT know that it was written for his newborn son.

Someday I will do a different version with that in mind, but to be honest, I am pleased with my version here for different reasons, and I'm almost glad I didn't know that fact when I performed this. Thanks again!

[chaity1]

I agree with cbasie - I stumbled on your videos randomly, watched them all, and think is your best by far. Keep it up dude!

[beesound]

WOW WOW WOW!!!

[aricmm]

What a fabulous talent you are. I am just so impressed by your musicality, expressive maturity and dexterity. Unless I hear about your upcoming cd's I'll just have to continue listening on Youtube - but thankfully I will listen. How absolutely perfect.

[foundring]

aric, thanks so much for your various comments on my vids, it's people like you who give me hope and make me want to continue down this path....

[BUNGLEJYME]

You are awesone. Excellent job!!!!!!!!

[oceanboy1993]

what have you had for training?

[foundring]

I started taking piano lessons at 5 and violin at 6, and studied classically for about 10 years. When I was about 15 I stopped taking lessons and began focusing on my own compositions, on improvisation, and eventually song-writing. In terms of jazz, I only started playing about 2 years ago and I'm entirely self-taught (and still inexperienced). I've found there's no better teacher than studying the greats of yore, from their recordings to transcriptions of their music that have been made since.

[oceanboy1993]

well i expected the classical, but i can't believe you're self taught in jazz. thats exceptional. i'm basically in the same boat with classical, but i'm having trouble taking off with jazz. i feel like i have the technical ability to play something like this video, but not so much the ear/creativity. anyways, i'm very impressed. good job

[Migoelvin8619]

this isn't monk feeling!! it's only a divertissement!

[organboi]

now this is the best sounding piano i've hear him on yet. i have a roland FP3 and it is terrific. it feels very much like a real piano and the keys are crisp and light. and i believe roland has rights to the sampling of steinways. i hope he doesn't play too much in this position because it can cause hand and wrist injuries. never stand or play too high up when playing a piano. it would be nice to see him sittting in front of a grand in a nice suit.

[elisabda]

simply fantastic!!

[luganskymichelangeli]

bro, you have no limits.

[helmut4lyfe]

Really loved it man! Sounded great! If I were to give any Constructive Critisism, I'd say to even out the tempo a little bit, as there were a few times in the song that you suddenly changed tempo, and I had a bit of a rough time following it.

Other than that, it sounded amazing, and we all can't wait for a new vid =)

[foundring]

The tempo changes were on purpose...sorry you had a hard time following it...but especially when I'm improvising on a theme like this (that isn't rhythmically driven), I generally like to use much rubato and much "playing" around with the tempo, resulting in these "sudden changes". I think it adds character and excitement, but thanks for your opinion.

[pianisamet]

You have great technic!

[mindexploration]

find a piano?

:p

x

[JakeyZeSnakey]

A little excessive, don't you think? It was clever and entertaining toward the beginning, but gaudy ad nauseum by the end.

Running up and down scales ain't all it, kiddo.

[foundring]

this performance is what it is--it wasn't meant to be anything special, as it was the first video I made for youtube.

That being said, I'm surprised how polarized the responses have been--though previously, the negative feedback I've received has been mostly constructive. Your comments however are trite and unhelpful--next time try not to talk down to me and maybe I'll give you more credence, though I probably won't.

[CBasie2856]

Sometimes, I actually think this is your best video yet, because it carries out sad and beautiful emotions.

My most favorite players were the one's who could really play up a storm (like you on Handful of Keys or the Tiger Rag) but would always add a 'pretty' element to their playing (like this song).

That's why I listen to this video more often than the other videos you have.

[foundring]

thank you thank you cb!

I always appreciate your thoughts and comments, but this is the nicest thing you've said yet :)

This was my first video, and it's nice to see that people appreciate my own noodlings and not just my tatum and fats performances.

What do you think of my "cherokee" video, as it's the only other one where I interpret a popular song like this?

thanks again....

[CBasie2856]

Although Art Tatum is characterized as the most 'technical' jazz pianist and probably the best pianist ever, he is forgotten by many people. You see, it is not only about how technical you are and whether you noodle or not. It is more about style. In this video, the style is much better than the style of your playing in the Cherokee video.

Oh, don't forget! Can you send me the transcription of Art Tatum's Tiger Rag? I'll give you my email so you can send me it.

[CBasie2856]

This is a beautiful piece! It almost makes me emotionly sad. It also shows how well classically trained you are, because this actually sounds more classical to me than jazz and stride.

I wish I could play that piece exactly the way you did it.

[PhysicsProf1]

Bravo! You are extremely talented. Do you play anywhere here in CA on a regular basis? Would like to see you live. Also, watched your video in Newport, RI and it brought back many memories for me. Went to Brown U. there many years ago and used to go to Newport quite frequently. Thanks for sharing.

[blanchelle]

Bombastic and brilliant. You stay with the melody, the way Monk always did. And you got your own ideas. I really enjoy this performance.

[d60944]

I don't care what the original song is about. I love this performance. I yearn a little for a slight edge of individuality in it sometimes. Just a few more original blues or gospel licks in the melodies and runs maybe? Like the tone of that keyboard - I presume you have a pedal down there somewhere too?

[IceNaraku]

alright its cool :). ill wait until then.

[IceNaraku]

how did u learn it? by ear? or sheets? if u have sheets.  could u send them??

[foundring]

eh sorry, I don't have any sheet music for this, this was a semi-improvised performance. maybe someday I'll get off my lazy ass and transcribe it, then I could give you a copy, but until then sorry....

[crazygirl716]

Well Done My Friend!!!

but i have to agree...keyboard is too low.

[cfabackus]

You do kinda Rach- it a little much for the piece, even though you say that's what you were after. Tatum has a little more sprezzatura - an Italian word I'm sure I'm misspelling, but check it - going on. I think Skopjess makes some useful points, if you can hear him. And if you don't yet listen to Don Pullen, you should. But I say all this cause I dug your vid.

[srcleber]

Im a brazilian and I have same dificult to write, but I'd like my opinian.

I like very very much, Its wonderful. Congractulations for your work.

[foundring]

My favorite of Oli's videos is his version of Sweet Lorraine--the left hand in that piece is particularly rough, especially for those of us with small hands =/

[wadecottingham]

foundring, i don't personally enjoy the musical result of your efforts but i sincerely applaud your journey, best wishes, and thanks for making us aware of Oli Saunders, he kicks ass.

[foundring]

well, you can't win em all. Thanks anyway. and hell yes Oli is the MAN.

[foundring]

My newest video, handful of keys by fats waller, is done, check it out...

[beaulc]

wow....nice job foundring.

[jpeaceng]

Impressive! I couldn't help but notice your posture - keyboard is too low. Better take care of your back dude, while you're still young!

[foundring]

I agree that I may have fell short of that goal--but I'm admittedly going through a Tatum phase right now, and I tried to think how he would have approached playing this piece, lemme keep practicing I'll put up a better one eventually. thanks for your comments I do appreciate it.

[aaronpiano]

Hey man, honestly, a lot of people aren't just going to understand this Tatum-style stuff you're trying to do.

I'd like to balance out these comments a little bit. 99% of the piano videos up here are just people reading or memorizing sheet music, and 99% of what's left are jazz performances that sort of just conform to the popular idiom. For some reason most of the YouTube jazz players kind of sound the same to me.

The piano style you're attempting to learn and create in is a style that...

[aaronpiano]

...only a handful of players in history have ever been able to do really well. I think it's probably the most difficult kind of music to understand and execute. I say congratulations for stepping out and being one of the few to go after this sort of thing.

Of course it's not perfect, but at times you played a couple of licks that were very moving and expressive. And guess what, just about nobody else is communicating those things that you did communicate!

Keep doing it man!

[foundring]

Skop, Snug, you both have a good point. However, you don't quite understand where I am coming from here. The reason I chose this piece (other than the fact that I love Monk) is precisely because I wanted to attempt to turn a "relaxed" "love song" into a "virtuosity" song, something that someone like Art Tatum could do flawlessly (e.g. his version of September Song or Body and Soul).

[Snuggelz220290]

it's ok, you're free in jazz to do w/e you want but i have to agrea with skopjess the original is way more relaxd... it isn't such a virtuosity song .

nicely done though ^^

[Skopjess]

you can play

you just don't play it right,

too much intonation, virtuoso-wannabe

you got to keep it small

it's a love song!

but well done anyway

don't try to show everything

let poeple want for more

try to work on that man, you're a good pianist anyway .

greetz

[Kolef88]

Pretty good. You show some good skills and play with a lot of feeling.

[plainwain]

kewl man...a great stride player.

[GUBRM]

Very good!

Is that a Roland Fp3 ure playing?

[foundring]

'tis :)

[davis21wylie]

Wow, that was great.

[tenneral]

That is a great performance. Well done. Play some more and soon.